Juvenile Justice

Perceptions of Juvenile Transfer

Professor Of Criminal Justice, University Of New Haven

Key Findings

Public defenders disagreed with statements that juvenile offenders should be transferred to adult courts (excluding through the statutory waivers for violent crimes) more than any other group surveyed.

Public defenders reported the highest average age that juveniles (17 years of age) should be held criminally responsible for violent crimes.

Juvenile prosecutors reported the highest levels of agreement with statements that juvenile offenders should be transferred to adult courts (excluding statutory waivers).

Juvenile prosecutors indicated the lowest age at which juveniles should be held criminally responsible for violent crime in the survey is 14 years-old.

One area juvenile probation officers disagreed with juvenile prosecutors was age at which juveniles should be held responsible for violent crime.

Description

In the article, “Practitioner Perceptions of Juvenile Transfer in Pennsylvania,” Myers and his co-authors examine perceptions of juveniles who have been transferred into adult court in Pennsylvania to determine how an individual’s profession impacts that perception. In response to concern and fear over the rise in violent crimes committed by juveniles, one policy allowing juvenile offenders to be transferred into adult criminal justice system was popularized to deter future juveniles from committing crime. To conduct their study, the researchers surveyed 384 juvenile court judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and probation officers. The results showed that public defenders disagreed with statements that juvenile offenders should be transferred to adult courts (excluding through the statutory waivers for violent crimes) more than any other group. Public defenders also reported the lowest average age that juveniles should be held criminally responsible for violent crimes at 17 years of age. In contrast, juvenile prosecutors reported the highest levels of agreement with statements that juvenile offenders should be transferred to adult courts (excluding statutory waivers) and indicated the lowest age at which juveniles should be held criminally responsible for violent crime (14 years of age). Juvenile probation officers aligned more closely with juvenile prosecutors deviating on the lowest age which juveniles should be held criminally responsible for violent crime. Probation officers noted a higher age at 15 years of age, which was more comparable to the public defender’s lowest age at which juveniles should be held criminally liable (17 years of age). Overall, the authors found the results showed a positive perception of juveniles being transferred to adult court in the industry but also noted variances by profession.